So my due date is tomorrow. And just to make things interesting, I woke up this morning at 6 AM with regular contractions.  Regular, that is, until my kids woke up an hour later. I guess the sight of two wild haired, pajama clad toddlers stomping towards the bed was enough to scare even the contractions away. So instead of finally getting rid of my watermelon size baby bump, I  had a rude awakening an hour prematurely. Fun.

Since I am still here with you, here is the promised first recipe in this baby countdown. This quick loaf of bread is very easy to make and always comes out perfect. You mix all the ingredients with a spoon! how hard is that? Make it anytime you want to impress the socks off someone, be it a guest, your mother in law or the hosts in your next potluck party.

Quick no-yeast whole grain bread

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups warm (not hot!) milk or water. Feel free to use your microwave.
3 Tbsp Canola oil
1 egg
2 Tbsp grains of your choice for decoration: oats, sesame, poppy seeds. Whatever floats your boat and crams your pantry.  I like to mix in some rock salt for taste and crunch.

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F (about 180 degrees Celsius). In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together until blended.

2.  In a second bowl, mix wet ingredients. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until moistened.

3. Transfer the bread mixture into an oiled round 8 inch spring-form pan, sprinkle with your decoration of choice and bake for about 45 minutes. Wait 5 minutes before removing from pan.

4. Eat your bread warm or let it cool on a rack.

This loaf is great accompanying a bowl of soup or a salad for a light meal. It won’t complain too much, mind you, being paired with your favorite stew or on the side of a nice juicy steak. Enjoy!